Town Hall 6/10/03/5pm
Forum Link: Original Post 6/10/2003 5pm Town Hall with Philip Linden You = Hunter Linden You: hi guys - philip is on his way so we'll start in a minute You: ta da - philip linden You: i see lots of pretty fancy people here tonight You: okay... let me say a few things then turn the floor over to Philip Linden You: First, thanks for attending You: It's great to see so many people - some new, many old You: We're also especially excited to see so many people getting ready to "cross over to release" with us You: the alpha and beta have been amazing You: and SL will continue to evolve You: but it will soon be time to take the next step and.... You: start inviting more people in! You: These townhalls will give all of you guys the chance.... You: to ask questions about the end of beta You: and launch of Second Life You: okay....put your hands together You: for PHILIP LINDEN Philip Linden: hi everyone! Philip Linden: as always, I could just sit up here and watch all of you. Philip Linden: my zoom fingers are getting tired. Philip Linden: So first let me start by saying THANKS to everyone who has signed up so quickly. Philip Linden: We've got a long way to go, but this is a fabulous start! Philip Linden: I guess this can be like a telethon... you've gotta sign up while I'm up here ;) Philip Linden: OK so anyway I'm sure we've got lots to talk about.... I'll not try and anticipate Q's and just start with you... Philip Linden: who’s first? James Miller : Are you able to tell us how many registrations you have gotten to date? Philip Linden: We're not giving out numbers so early! Philip Linden: Wanna give folks time to decide. James Miller: aww, come on, we wont tell! Philip Linden: Yeah right ;) James Miller: gah, Now I gotta hang up with Tech TV! :( Christopher Omega: Will situations like this one where many ppl are concentrated into one area be improved? Philip Linden: Yes! Philip Linden: There are two phases of solutions we are working on. Philip Linden : The first is just supporting more ppl interactively, like this. Philip Linden: First thing is faster physics... we are working hard on that. Philip Linden: Next is a mode where LOTS of ppl can be at an event less interactively. Philip Linden : Like a camera or something. Philip Linden : So the first you will see soon Philip Linden : The second will be later Philip Linden : But this is our #1 task. Adam Money: when’s the game going public? 23rd? Philip Linden: Hmmmm..... Philip Linden : Honestly we are trying to keep the exact date under wraps Philip Linden : So we are keeping that secret... but it is very soon. Derek Jones: Will you be adding any new gestures to SL before the final release? Philip Linden: Yes. Philip Linden : We have several new anims. Philip Linden : One that was requested was a bow/arrow, and I know that's in. Philip Linden : Also we are expanding to be able to handle lots more... expect some in each release Cal Rogers: I'm concerned about the issue of object usage in a sim, I left one sim because of 95+% utilization. Now I'm in one with 83%. Philip Linden : Yeah, that's a good Q Cal Rogers: Will this limitation be raised, or punishment be issued for banking objects? Philip Linden : Regions can only handle so many objects. Philip Linden : We will increase this as we are able. Philip Linden : And as folks leave, etc, space will generally free up. Philip Linden : There has to always be some regulator. Philip Linden : Also we will always be adding more land... very soon in fact. James Argonaut: there have been some issues with the Physics engines not being able to move really heavy items, no matter how much force is applied Philip Linden : Ooh good question James Argonaut: is this a bug or intentional? Philip Linden : So that is by design! Philip Linden : So there is a limit to the forces objects can apply. Philip Linden : This limit is driven by the mass of the object! Philip Linden: So small things push less, bug harder. James Argonaut : is there a equation that you can give us to tell us max force? Philip Linden : I will look into that for you. James Argonaut: thanks :) Philip Linden : The design prevents small stuff from being too annoying Charlie Omega : some of us have become accustomed to the features in the debug menu, will these be avail to us after release? Philip Linden : Some will, some won't. We will try and make them more functional by moving to other menus. Philip Linden : Power users will always be happy ;) Darque Grimm: will the primitive limit be increased and or the avatar limit in a sim, this is a big issue for those that live in da boom Philip Linden : I will look into whether we can free some stuff in DaBoom. Philip Linden: As I said earlier, expect stuff in general to free as new land comes on. Teeny Leviathan : Are there any plans to give us more flexible construction tools? Philip Linden : We are always focused on the tools Philip Linden : What in particular... AV or Prims or what? Teeny Leviathan: I find that it’s difficult to do windows without stacking a few prims. Any plans on a more precise subtract tool? Philip Linden: OK. Subtraction. Philip Linden: So that is a bigger problem. I can't forecast a quick sol'n Philip Linden: But it is something we are thinking about. Philip Linden: Sorry I can't be more specific.... it is a hard prob b/c of the CPU load in creating the subtraction surfaces. Teeny Leviathan: IRL, I'm a CAD drafter, and we have a few nice features in Autocad like array and mirror. They really come in handy. Philip Linden : And you all don't want lower FPS now do you? ;) Hiro Yamamoto: What about objects not being aligned after you don't look at them for a while (especially attachments which slowly drift totally askew over time) Craig Thompson: it happens majorly moving when your sitting on something and crossing sim line, just much slower when an attachment Philip Linden: Hmmm... that sounds bad! Philip Linden: I haven't heard about that one. Philip Linden: Can you put a bug into the forums on the specific case of attachments drifting. Philip Linden: I will follow up with you. Philip Linden: that shouldn't be happening. Kathy Yamamoto: What will the age requirements be when this goes public? And when do you see them changing? Philip Linden: The age requirements will be the same at public as today. Philip Linden: We feel that there needs to be great parental controls to explicitly allow younger. Philip Linden: But we do want to make SL available to all, so we will work aggressively on this. Hikaru Yamamoto: Will we still keep the voting booths? Hikaru Yamamoto: or will the vote system change? Philip Linden: Ahh.... the tricky booth subject! I'll duck the tomatoes! Philip Linden: We will launch with them... but will move to a system that rewards differently in 1.1 timeframe. Philip Linden: So this will be connected to improvements in mapping, for example... Philip Linden: So if you have a popular spot, it will also be easier to find if well liked. Dave Zeeman : I know the Lindens are on the rail about custom animations. I was wondering if you had any sort of plan for it set up, and if not, if you're looking for plans through the forum. Philip Linden: Ooh that's a good one! Philip Linden: We think that we will do them for sure. Philip Linden: SL WILL be the most expressive place ever! And this is a part. Philip Linden: However, it isn't trivial, so I don't want to commit to which release or exactly when. Kaji LeFay: i want to know what will happen to property when some one doesn’t join Kaji LeFay: and items and all that Philip Linden: It will be released to public in the way that decay occurs today. Philip Linden: So there will be more land for you all! Kaji LeFay: so i will always exist in the world even though i don’t join Philip Linden: No, only for a short while. Philip Linden: In general if you leave SL your stuff decays. Cal Rogers: I wanted to voice my vote for the preference option to suppress Online and Offline messages for those we hold calling cards for. Philip Linden: If you don't want messages from someone, you should delete their card, right? Philip Linden: The idea is that cards are a contract like friendship. Philip Linden: This makes them more meaningful Darque Grimm: no he mean the "bob is online bob is offline" messages Philip Linden: Oh OK! Philip Linden: Sorry. Philip Linden: Yeah we will look into that... we are thinking about a better 'console' for system msgs Philip Linden: like those. Philip Linden: So you will see updates to that soon. Craig Thompson: so well get a Half-Life Console? Philip Linden: Umm... yeah... something like that ;) Mickey Roark: regarding someone not joining: what about -no copy -no modify (especially scripts), that are already sold or bought, what happens to them? Philip Linden: Good Question. Philip Linden: Things you have bought you can always keep. Philip Linden: So they will not decay. Philip Linden: Permissions will be respected, though. Philip Linden: So you will not be able to edit. Mickey Roark: so it they are broken we are sol? Philip Linden: Someone can claim objects in public, but not edit. Philip Linden: Indeed, you are then SOL... it seems the only fair thing. Philip Linden: Considering that the alternative would be a real breach of creative privacy. Christopher Omega: Do you have an "expected by" date for script, texture, and other inventory other then object permissions? Philip Linden: Yes, that work will be in the next release, late summer. Christopher Omega: can I ask how they will work yet? Philip Linden: Too early to describe, but we are designing and will post design. James Argonaut: will we be able to import midi files? Philip Linden: Midi files are a technical challenge... Philip Linden: Interesting idea. Philip Linden: We can put it on the list if you want. Philip Linden: .ogg will be easier. Philip Linden: Since we use it already as the format. Darque Grimm: will the scripting language ever be simplified to something maybe more like qbasic, so more people could do it? Philip Linden: Good forum thread! We have some ideas about better design there. Philip Linden: Like for example global vars you can change with sliders, etc. Philip Linden: Would be interested in folk's thoughts on that... start a thread. Hiro Yamamoto: Would it be possible to have non humanoid avatars? like just have an object you make be an avatar? Philip Linden: Hiro... Philip Linden: Attachments will have to do for a while... Hikaru Yamamoto: heh, it would be to turn really tiny and make a tiny home only you can fit through Philip Linden: The system is fairly keyed to humans right now. Philip Linden: But another soln might be hierarchies, etc, which we are thinking about. Philip Linden: So you could make a complex jointed object. Dave Zeeman : Do you plan on adding new terraforming features, such as a larger editing box or more specific ways of changing the landscape? Philip Linden: Yes, we are working on that! Philip Linden: Realize the existing tools are rather basic. Philip Linden: Just talking about that today... Philip Linden: Don't have specific schedule for it. Darque Grimm: will you soon be implementing a AFK and BUSY auto response? Philip Linden: OK so you mean adding a custom away message? Philip Linden: We will try and add that to the near term list. Darque Grimm: yes ,heck any if not custom Philip Linden: Oh... actually should be in 0.8 Philip Linden: SO check it out. Charlie Omega: could there be a way for a optional huge cache directory so that maybe textures known to the servers within a specified area can be loaded on the client in an encrypted form that stays resident on the client system, therefore reducing packets/lag? Philip Linden: Yes we are looking into that as one of the ways to increase performance Philip Linden: The textures aren't the biggest part of it, actually... Philip Linden: but that’s the general idea. Charlie Omega: really? Philip Linden: Yes it is object creation, etc that is most of the load. Charlie Omega: ah You: okay everyone - thanks for coming You: i'll post a chat log of the event Philip Linden: Thank you all again for staying with us!!! Philip Linden: I bow to you. Category:Town Hall Logs